Wichita McDonald’s join in nationwide ‘Special Sauce’ giveaway

Two McDonald’s stores in Wichita will have 47 bottles of “Special Sauce” between them to distribute to customers on Thursday. Denise NeilThe Wichita Eagle

Two McDonald’s stores in Wichita will have 47 bottles of “Special Sauce” between them to distribute to customers on Thursday. Denise NeilThe Wichita Eagle

There’s big news about Big Macs. In observation of its signature sandwich’s 50th birthday, fast-food chain McDonald’s recently started selling three sizes of the Big Mac – one for every size appetite.

Now, there’s even bigger Big Mac news. On Thursday, a few Wichitans will be among only 10,000 people nationwide who will get their hands on a bottle of McDonald’s-produced Big Mac “Special Sauce” – the Thousand Island dressing descendant that holds the famous burger together.

Two local stores have the 47 11.4-ounce bottles allotted the Wichita market and will give them away to the first customers who arrive and utter the phrase, “There’s a Big Mac for that.”

The McDonald’s at 53rd and Meridian will start giving out its 20 bottles at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday. The store at 21st and Greenwich will distribute its 27 bottles starting at 3 p.m.

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It’s the first time the sauce has been given away in the United States, and 53rd and Meridian franchisee Bob Lane predicts his supply won’t last long.

“I think it’ll go really fast,” he said, showing off a bottle of the pinkish/orange-ish stuff that was marked “bottle 6,051 of 10,000.”

The sauce giveaway is part of McDonald’s nationwide promotion of its two new sizes of Big Macs, which it started serving last week and will continue offering through at least March 20. There’s the Grand Mac, which is served on a larger sesame-seed bun than the original with 1/3 pound of meat distributed between two patties. There’s also the Mac Jr., a smaller, single-patty Big Mac that forgoes the middle bun and is designed to be eaten on the go.

The original Big Mac has been around since 1967, and like the famous jingle said, it features “two all beef patties, Special Sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame-seed bun. The original has 563 calories, The Grand Mac has 860, and the Mac Jr. has 460.

So far, customers are liking the new options, said Michael Lane, Bob Lane’s son, who owns five of Lane Enterprises’ 27 local McDonald’s franchises.

“Some are saying, ‘Oh, I’m so happy you have a smaller option,’ ” he said. “The others are saying, ‘I’m so glad there’s a bigger one.’ ”

Lane Enterprises also came up with a local event to promote the Big Mac special.

They’ll be given free rein in the kitchen to use any ingredients to try to create a dish that is better, but their creation must include Big Mac Special Sauce. The best of the new burgers will win its inventors prizes and the title of “Big Mac Attackers.” I have agreed to serve as a judge, and the public is welcome to watch.